New rail bridge to be built parallel to Pamban
CHENNAI: The Railways has decided to build a new rail bridge in parallel to the century-old Pamban rail bridge that connects Rameswaram island with Pamban before replacing the ageing Scherzer’s span with a vertical span in the bridge. The Railway Board’s approval has come after the national transporter decided not to cancel train services to Rameswaram in Ramanathapuram district for replacing the old spans of the Pamban bridge.
Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), an engineering wing of the Railways, which was entrusted with the work of replacing the manually operated span (two-leaf structure) with the vertical lift-type electronic span, has sought to terminate the train traffic to Rameswaram for 10 months.
“We have decided not to withdraw the train services to Rameswaram as the island town attracts pilgrims across the country. Cancellation of train services may put passengers in displeasure. The Railways has decided to build a new bridge before replacing the manual span,” a senior railway official told Express.
The Railway Board, at a meeting in Delhi on Monday, sanctioned approval to build the second bridge in Pamban. The meeting was attended by top officials of the Southern Railway.
“A new bridge spanning 2.34 km parallel to the existing bridge in the Palk Straits would be built between Rameswaram and Pamban, by provisioning the requisite infrastructure for doubling works in future without closing the existing line. The new bridge is planned to be built in two years,” said a senior official from the RVNL.
In 2016, as part of the strengthening of the Pamban Bridge, the Railways decided to replace the manually operated 65.23-metre-long old span with another suitable electronic span, to enable ships to pass under the rail bridge. The official said another alternative which suggested replacing the spans without cancelling train services was dropped owing to safety concerns.
Project overview
2.34-km new bridge parallel to the Pamban bridge between Rameswaram and Pamban to be built in two years.
The proposal to replace the manually operated span (two-leaf structure) with the vertical lift-type electronic span postponed Railways decided not to cancel train services during span replacement works as Rameswaram attracts thousands of pilgrims across India
An alternative proposal to build a new 500-metre bridge from Rameswaram to link with the bridge during the replacement works was dropped for safety reasons
During the gauge conversion in 2007, it was proposed to replace the span in another 10 to 15 years
As of now, about 10 to 15 cargo ships, Coast Guard ships, fishing vessels and oil tankers pass through the bridge every month